Stress Relief

7 or 9. And this block is either an 8 or a 3.

I was sitting in my recliner, smoking a cigar (Sol Cubano Artisan for those who care), and working on the Friday Sudoku. The hard one. The Indians’ game was on TV. I think they were winning. I was attempting to decompress.

The last few weeks had left me slightly off balance. There hadn’t been any major incidents. There weren’t any monumental personal struggles. I had faced countless minor annoyances. It was death by a thousand paper cuts. And by Friday evening I had had enough.

Stress relief for some is a movie, preferably one that requires little to no thought. Others dive into a book. One of my friends naps. Really. She just goes to sleep for awhile and wakes up refreshed and relaxed. Not me. Even my relaxation is a multi-tasking event.

It is an 8. Good, than this is the 3.

I spent over 9 hours in my office last weekend. This is part of the annual recertification to meet with my clients to discuss Medicare related products. Boring. Mind Numbing. Insulting. The whole process is offensive. The biggest difference between being a Washington bureaucrat and an insurance agent is that they don’t respect us and can force us to take hours of meaningless training and tests. We don’t respect the bureaucrats, but all we can do is write blogs.

And yet we lived to tell the tale. These aren’t major problems, just annoyances.

I’ve traded emails with one of my regular paper-cutters over the last few weeks. This guy wants to be a big fish. He wants to be a force. And he wants to be paid what he considers to be what he’s worth. He’s not. He won’t be. And he is already paid what he is really worth. Sucks to be him. And if I was him, stress relief would entail a lot more than sitting in a comfortable chair, working on a Sudoku and smoking a good cigar. But dealing with him and his mishigas is still a pain I could do without.

I think the Indians are going to hold on and win this!

So please let me share this thought with you – it doesn’t matter how minor the issue is. If you are being irritated, if you are being annoyed, if you are being stressed, find the time and manner best suited for you to STOP, catch your breath, and regain your balance. Don’t let anyone pooh pooh your stress. And don’t let anyone tell you that there is a right way and a wrong way to relieve your tension. Find your own method. Relax and persevere.

I solved the Sudoku, finished the cigar and watched the last pitch of an Indians victory. What stress?